The Monster of Montauk

Have you seen or heard of this thing yet? This creature washed up on shore in Montauk, New York. Too add to the fun - there is an animal research facility just offshore on Plum Island. Woot! Can you come up with a better recipe for internet-crypto nuts to speculate about?

The image is front page news on all the cryptid sites lately. The forever hopeful ignorants are swearing it's a wingless griffin or some sort of sea beasty. (Or at least a mutated genetic mistake from Plum Island.) Admittedly, at first glance, the exposed skull does look like a beak. But those are clearly canines and the creature is obviously some sort of bloated raccoon or dog carcass laying in the sand. Even my untrained forensic eye can see that.

So let's solve this riddle...

It's most likely a dead raccoon. So sad, but in this second picture (there were 4 witnesses and 2 photographers), we can clearly see the nostril port in the exposed skull. Sorry -- no griffins here. Also in plain site are the lower canines, (see skull pic), and long fingers. Some claim that it's unlucky pug -- oh noes! But the face isn't short enough and there isn't any underbite. Also -- see the gray fur?

Well, you know I can't see goobertech, but I've been following this lunacy for a couple of weeks now. Stay-at-home-moms have little else to do but follow pointless news stories and eat bon-bons. ;) I think it's a raccoon, myself. The other images...when you can see the fur, are more convincing. The most entertaining part, really, is all the "where did it go?" stuff that's followed.